Vivienne Von Vexx's Arc

Chapter 11 of 21

The sketch lay between them on the dusty floor. The hunter's wound was still fresh under the bandage, and the smell of his blood filled the small chapel. Vivienne felt her teeth ache. She stood up slowly and stepped back until the mossy stone saint was between them. The carved robes and small flowers at the saint's feet made a wall she could hide behind. "Do not speak for a moment," she said. Her voice was tight. "Your blood is loud in here." The hunter went still. He understood. He reached into his shirt and drew out a thin silver band etched with tiny flowers. He set it on the stone floor and slid it across to her side. "My grandmother's," he said. "She said if I ever met you, I should give it back." Vivienne picked up the ring. The metal was cool against her burned fingers. It steadied her in a way the hunger could not reach. She breathed out. She breathed in. The ache in her jaw eased. Through the broken window she could see the torn vine outside, its purple stems snapped where she had ripped through the sunlight for him. Small red berries still hung from the wounded branches. "I will sit by the door," she said. "You will sit by the saint. We will wait out the day like that." The hunter nodded once. He lay back against the slab and closed his eyes. Vivienne slid the silver ring onto her finger and kept her back to him. The hunger was still there. But the trust held.